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Remaining capacity assessment of corrosion damaged beams
using minimum curves
R. Rahgozar
Department of Civil Engineering, University of Kerman, Kerman, P.O. Box: 76169-133, Iran
Received 29 September 2007; accepted 10 February 2008
Abstract
The number of exposed steelwork structures used in various industries is steadily increasing as a result of building new structures and extending
the life of older structures. Most of these structures are subjected to corrosion due to environmental exposure which can reduce their carrying
capacity. Corrosion damage is a serious problem for these structures. Current assessment methods of corrosion damaged steelwork involve visual
inspection which tends to be used very conservatively. There is a need for more accurate assessment method which can be used to make reliable
decisions affecting the cost and safety. In this paper, various forms of corrosion are reviewed along with how uniform corrosion affects steel
structures. Corrosion decay models are developed based on the information on the locations where corrosion occurs. The effects of corrosion on
steel beams are analyzed by evaluating the remaining capacity with regard to bending stresses, shear failure, lateral torsional buckling, and bearing
failure. Four samples of corrosion damaged beams, which were removed from a chemical works, were measured for their thickness loss and then
subjected to load test for their ultimate capacities. The failure loads of the beams are compared with the calculated capacities of various corrosion
damage models. In order to estimate the percentage remaining capacity of corrosion damaged I-beams, minimum curves for different types of
universal beams which are developed can be used in conjunction with the information on the thickness loss.
c 2008 Published by Elsevier Ltd
Keywords: Corrosion; Damaged beam; Minimum curves; Remaining capacity
1. Introduction
Corrosion of steel structures is a serious problem
throughout the world. Many of these structures are undergoing
deterioration due to corrosion. The deterioration of steel
structures has become a very important issue. In the USA,
40% of the bridges are built of steel. Many of these bridges
are deteriorating due to corrosion caused by aggressive
environments and inadequate maintenance Kayser [1]. In
the UK the petrol-chemical industry has been using steel
extensively as the primary structural material for structures
such as pipe bridges, frame support for vessels and process
equipment. Many of these structures have reached nearly
50 years of service life are in a severely deteriorated condition
due to aggressive environments combined with their age [2].
As a consequence, inspection, maintenance and repair are
becoming increasingly complex and costly because of the
cr
= k
_
2
E
12
_
1
2
_
(d/t )
2
_
(1)
where k is given by [9]:
k = 4.00 +
5.34
2
for 1 (2a)
k = 5.34 +
4
2
for > 1 (2b)
where = a/d as shown in Fig. 2. If the numerical values for
= 0.3, E = 205 KN/mm
2
and each of the Eqs. (2a) and (2b)
substituted into Eq. (1) separately, then:
cr
=
_
0.75 +
1
(a/d)
2
__
1000
(d/t )
_
2
for 1 (3a)
cr
=
_
1 +
0.75
(a/d)
2
__
1000
(d/t )
_
2
for > 1. (3b)
The code uses the notation, q
e
, instead of
cr
for the elastic
critical shear stress. The code identies three modes of behavior
of webs. The rst is where the web strength is governed by
its ultimate web capacity, i.e. 0.6p
yw
, the third is where the
capacity is solely governed by the elastic critical shear stress,
q
e
, and the intermediate stage is where an interaction occurs
between the rst and third behaviors. The divisions between
the three modes are quantied by equivalent web slenderness
factor.
w
, which is given by:
w
=
_
0.6P
yw
q
e
_
1/2
. (4)
The code gives the critical shear strength, q
cr
, of a web panel
as follows:
q
cr
= 0.6p
yw
for
w
0.8 (5a)
q
cr
= 0.6p
yw
[1 0.8 (
w
0.8)] for 0.8 <
w
< 1.25 (5b)
q
cr
= q
e
for
w
1.25. (5c)
3.3. Effect of corrosion on shear capacity
The corrosion in the web and anges results in the reduction
in shear capacity. In addition, the class of a section may be
changed from one to another due to the loss of thickness of web.
For example, an element that is plastic or compact at its as new
condition may become semi-compact due to loss of thickness.
The code recommends that when d/t exceeds 63 it should be
checked for shear buckling. The web thickness of a corroded
beam can be uniform at the initial stages of corrosion. If webs
of corrosion damaged beams vary in thickness signicantly,
the shear capacity should be calculated from rst principles
assuming elastic behavior. In sections where the variation in the
web thickness due to corrosion is small, average web thickness
may be used for evaluating the shear capacity.
The aim of this study is to obtain minimum curves for
the percentage remaining shear capacity that can be caused to
predict the shear capacity of corroded beams. This minimum
curve can be obtained by identifying the worst possible case.
The Eq. (3b) shows that a minimum q
e
can be obtained when
= a/d is large or innitive, i.e. when no stiffener is provided.
R. Rahgozar / Journal of Constructional Steel Research 65 (2009) 299307 303
Using Eqs. (3b) and (4) and a/d = , it can be shown that,
d
t
= 62.3 for
w
= 0.8 (6a)
d
t
= 97.3 for
w
= 1.25. (6b)
Therefore, using the above information and taking into account
the fact that corrosion may change the class of an element, two
main categories of sections in terms of d/t are considered for
the development of minimum curves for the shear capacity. The
two categories are given below:
Category 1 sections with d/t 63
Category 2 sections with d/t > 63.
3.4. Minimum curves for shear capacity
The category 1 (C1) sections are considered rst to analyze
and possibly identify minimum curves that can be used to
estimate the remaining shear capacity of corroded beams.
Although the corrosion reduces the thickness of a web, some
sections which have lowest value of d/t at their as new
condition may remain as C1 throughout or part of their service
life. For C1 beams, the shear capacity, P
N
, is given by:
P
N
= 0.6p
y
D t for as new section. (7)
Shear capacity of a rolled I-beam,
P
C
= 0.6p
y
A
C
for corroded section (8)
where A